Starting the Next Chapter: Review: Fury

by Elizabeth Miles
publisher: Simon Pulse
date published: August 30, 2011
format: eGalley
pages: 352
source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

Sometimes sorry isn't enough....It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.
Em and Chase have been chosen.

What I Thought

As soon as I heard about the plot that makes up this book, I was intrigued. It isn't so often that the Furies of Greek mythology make their way into the pages of a YA novel. Elizabeth Miles has integrated these figures into a story full of betrayal and cruelty, making for a whirlwind of thrills and terror.

The characters that make up Fury are not your typical YA lot. These are not nice kids in the least. The two primary characters, Emily and Chase, have done some bad things for which they are about to face weighty repercussions. Aside from these two, the story is full of characters who lack integrity. The character that comes most to mind that I found to be the most abhorrent was Em's love interest (i.e. the boyfriend of her best friend, Gabby), Zach. The entire dynamic between Emily and Zach was repellant and felt absolutely wrong the entire time I was reading about it, so Miles definitely did an excellent job at portraying the wrongness of Emily's actions with Zach. However, I found Emily to be a hard character to connect to. I felt little pity for her and, instead, was incredibly frustrated. The same goes for Chase, whom I might have otherwise related to due to his background. Neither character really did it for me and I just could not become fully invested in them. The only character that did successfully draw me in was J.D., who we don't get to see much of in comparison.

The Furies are what really saved this book for me. They are vengeance and terror in the guise of otherworldly young women. Each time they made an appearance, I felt a growing sense of unease until I was on the verge of biting my nails. There was just something about them that really managed to give me the creeps. They met up to my expectations of what the Furies should be fairly well, which was probably my favorite aspect of the story.

While Fury did not live up to my initial expectations, it did prove thrilling enough to make for a good read. I will probably read the second book in the series, but I do not know if I will add them to my personal library or not. If you're a fan of plots centered around betrayals and revenge or are intrigued by figures such as the Furies, this book might serve you well. I give Fury 3 hoots.